"He got me by my shirt," the boy said, recalling the weekend's order of events. "When I was playing basketball, (the) ball went over the fence. When I went to get it, he picked me up. So, my friends had to pull me."

The child tried to push the man off, but the adult -- later identified by police as 32-year-old John Otis Jenkins -- was too strong.

"The dude picks him up and grabs him -- I ran as fast as I can, tried to grab him, and started screaming for my mom," Marisa said.

She is hailed as a hero for her brave actions.

Police say she saved the little boy.

"I'm really proud of her," said Kristen Martinez, Marisa's mother.

Police cornered Jenkins at a nearby church. He's due at the Stanislaus Superior Court on Wednesday morning to face charges.

The 8-year-old told KCRA 3 he feels thankful toward Marisa.

The incident started when Kristen Martinez noticed Jenkins was trying to open her neighbor's front door, according to a news release from the Modesto Police Department.

The woman yelled at him, asking what he was doing, and Jenkins stopped, officers said.

Martinez went back inside her home to call police.

As the woman dialed the Modesto department to report the suspicious man, Marisa saw Jenkins approach the boy, police said.

The child was playing outside his home, also in the 1800 block of Sunrise Avenue, when Jenkins started making sexual comments toward him, police said.

When Jenkins picked up the boy and carried him off, the child screamed -- which is when Marisa sprang into action, chasing after the pair and yelling for the man to stop.

She pulled the boy from his grasp, and the pair ran from Jenkins together, police said.

Jenkins' charges include kidnapping, and annoying or molesting a child.

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